Australian federal election, 1947

The Australian federal election, 1947 was held on 22 December 1947. The people of Australia elected a new Parliament, and the Liberal Party of Australia, although victorious, was reduced to a minority government.

Background
Following the end of World War II, Levi Ogilvy's conservative Liberal Party of Australia was in power. The party had to deal with the problem of economic downturn, as government spending exceeded tax revenue. Ogilvy was forced to enact austerity measures, lowering government expenditures while raising taxes. The military's budget was decreased as much as possible, and the standing army was disbanded. However, the government was also forced to nearly eliminate education, administration, and social spending, while also raising tariffs to a moderate level (the highest that the party was willing to tolerate). These measures led to short-term economic recovery, but the Liberals were overconfident in their ability to lead a recovery from the economic crisis, and the government restored its administration and education spending to (slightly below) its usual levels. This led to a return to economic decline, and the opposition forced the government to call new elections.

Elections
Ogilvy and his government faced a stormy election season, as the people had generally lost faith in his party. The liberal wing of the Liberal Party split from the main party to form the "Australian Democrats", who branded themselves as "small-l liberals" and were supportive of both social liberalism and economic liberalism. The Democrats stole much of the Liberal vote, and the Liberals were instead forced to ally with the National Party of Australia in order to remain in power. In the Northern Territory, nationalists from the ethnic minority groups formed a strong opposition to the Liberals.

The election was a disappointment for the Liberals, who only won South Australia (and only with a .1% lead over the Democrats). It was a promising result for the Democrats, which managed to win eastern Australia's states of Queensland and Victoria, while Labor won New South Wales. In the Northern Territory, the neutral nationalists won 33.2% of the vote, making them the largest political faction in the state; the Democrats placed in second with 19.8%, and the Liberals in third with 18.5%. Western Australia was won by the Nationals, who had enjoyed a surge in popularity in rural Australia due to their agreement with the Liberals' social conservatism, but also due to their advocacy for a state-run capitalist system that could end the crisis.

The election results forced the major parties to form coalitions. The country's largest party, the Liberals, maintained a slim lead, garnering 30.91% of the popular vote (although only 25.53% of the vote went to the main Liberal Party, as opposed to their traditionalist affiliate, making the Democrats the de facto largest party). The Democrats emerged as the second-largest party, which inspired their leadership to continue the party's independence from the Liberals and lead the Australian liberal movement. In third place came the Labor Party, which won 25.13% of the vote. Interestingly, the top three main parties (without their auxiliaries) each won 25% of the vote, the last time that the three parties would enjoy such a divided electorate. The National Party won fourth place with 17.02% of the vote, with the vast majority of its support coming from Western Australia. Although the Communist Party of Australia placed fifth, it did not win in any state, and its electorate was small and insignificant on the national scale. Finally, the independent nationalists placed in sixth, although they emerged as the largest party in the Northern Territory.

A coalition of the right-wing parties, the Liberal and National parties, got 47.93% of the vote, and they formed the basis of government. Ogilvy remained Prime Minister, although he was now at the head of a deeply unpopular minority government. His government was briefly able to deal with the economic crisis, but his government foolishly returned government spending to its previous levels at the first sight of economic improvement, leading to continued downturn and its overthrow in a vote of no-confidence. The 1949 election saw Labor seize power.

Results

 * Liberal Party of Australia.png Liberal Party of Australia - 30.91%
 * Australian Democrats.png Australian Democrats - 25.77%
 * Australian Labor Party.png Australian Labor Party - 25.13%
 * National Party of Australia.png National Party of Australia - 17.02%
 * Communist Party of Australia.jpg Communist Party of Australia - .72%
 * Independent nationalists - .45%